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Cougar Sighting From Kentucky and A New Cryptid Cat?
A few days ago I posted a report entitled "Witness describes seeing black panther" and ask for other reports. Well, I recently got and email about a cougar sighting in an unlikely place but that is not all.
Included in the email is a description of a possible new cryptid large cat. What follows is the email of the report about the cougar, along with some questions, and information about the new possible cryptid.
- Start Report-
Hi Thomas,
I haven't seen a black panther in Boone Co.
but I did see a puma in Kenton right by the airport. We used to live in
a neighborhood right off of Donaldson Rd next to the airport. In 1992, I
saw a large animal at the wood line that I thought was a yellow lab,
then realized as it walked that it was a cat. I saw the tail as it went
into the woods.
My point is, could the black cat
sighting have been a melanistic cougar or just one with a lot of darker
coloring? They say there's never been a confirmed melanistic cougar.
On
another note, there have also been two sightings of very large (3 ft
tall), hairless or pink skinned cat-like creatures here in the
Independence area. There's a huge thread on our Next Door app about
it.
No idea what those are!
Good luck!
Jo
-End Report -
Thanks for the report.
First let me give just a little information about Kenton County, Ky.
Kenton County is located in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,720, making it the third most populous county in Kentucky. Even though, it has a high population, it also has some good sized wooded areas. I tried to find the exact acreage but could not, so I just used google maps to scout the area. I also checked the county website and it stated "...designated park lands, totaling nearly 725 acres of green space".
Now, Lets look at the question.
Melanistic or melanism is a term that refers to black pigment. Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair. This can result in an animal, that is normally not black, to be black in color. So, while there is no confirmed reports of black cougars, I would assume that it is possible and there is a little history about it. First there are 100's of reported sightings of black cougar type cats, but of course none of them are "confirmed".
Author Claude Barnes wrote in his 1960 book about seeing a skinned black cougar that a hunter killed in Colorado. Another author, Jim Bob Tinsley, included a picture of a black cougar in his book, The Puma: Legendary Lion of the Americas, that was supposedly killed in Costa Rica.
One thing we should remember is that black pumas are melanistic pumas (aka: cougars, mountain lions). They are also called black panthers. Melanistic leopards and jaguars are also called black panthers. So, these could overlap and be confusing without a very detailed examination. It would be very easy to see a black jaguar and think it was a black cougar....especially in a brief road crossing sighting.
Now, what about these large hairless cats? This is something I do not recall ever hearing about, but I would assume that others from the area have. So, if anyone can enlighten me on these sightings then please shoot me a message or email.
Are there any other reports of large, pink skinned, hairless cats from any other areas? I can not recall ever hearing about any, but I could have easily missed it. So, let me know.
Thanks
~Thomas~
This
post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the
cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto
Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of
unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild
land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.
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